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New signing Jake Carroll admitted being amazed by the intensity of training at Cambridge United after making his debut in Saturday’s goalless draw at home to Blackpool.

United were unable to grab victory after Luke Berry’s penalty was saved following the dismissal of Tom Aldred for a foul on Conor Newton inside the area.

But left-back Carroll helped keep a clean sheet in his maiden outing after moving from Hartlepool for undisclosed terms on a two-and-a-half year deal last Thursday.

And he said his first couple of days training with the United squad had been an eye-opener with manager Shaun Derry setting a shining example to the players.

The Irish defender said: “I spoke to the manager and everything he said excited me and the professionalism, the way the boys work, I think I got a bit of a shock when I came in for my first day of training how high tempo it is and I’ve loved it from minute one.

“No disrespect to Hartlepool, we did have a well-run system and the manager and coaches were good and I respected them.

“But coming here the intensity in how hard everyone works starts from the manager and he’ll go through drills and his demonstrations are quick and that rubs off.

“His enthusiasm for the game rubs off on everyone and it just goes from there.

“I enjoyed being in a team that was on the front foot. I’ve been in a struggling team, so it’s a different atmosphere and it’s such a close-knit group, which comes on to the pitch as well.

“Robbo (Mark Roberts) and Leggy (Leon Legge), the way they speak to me during the game, it’s brilliant for me and I really enjoyed it.

“You look at where the club is in the table, it’s a massive club and I don’t think a lot of people realise how big this club could be, so there were a lot of factors that attracted me.”